Christmas Tidings 2021
A reflection by Fr. Joe Antony
Christmas is generally a time of warmth, of happiness, and of good will to all. To some, however – particularly those who have recently experienced loss, those who are lonely and those who have gone through difficult times; it can seem like Christmas flaunts everything that their life is missing.
In Charles Dickens novel A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge calls Christmas “HUMBUG”, and angrily demands, “what right have you to be merry?” He was looking at Christmas like any other time of the year and foolishly thought that happiness was all about possessions, money, and achieving one’s personal ambitions. Scrooge’s heart had been hurt by a difficult childhood and a lost love-this caused him to harden himself against others. In the end, having realized his errors and wanting to make amends for his ways, he learned to give to others and consequently was blessed with gladness and joy himself.
Besides the fact that Christmas celebrates Jesus’ birth, that in itself makes it a special occasion, Christmas is a kind, charitable and pleasant season. The joy of Christmas comes from within and although, as Scrooge later finds out, it doesn’t fill one’s pockets with silver or gold but it can transform you from the inside and give you a fresh outlook on life.
Thereby, what we take out of the chest of Christmas is cheer and love as much as we contribute to it. To avoid the futility and emptiness of Scrooge’s “humbug” Christmas, we need to embrace the spirit of giving. We can give our time and our efforts to better the lives of people around us. We should give to others more than we hope to receive from them. We need to open our circle of friendship to those who are more alone than we are. It is not getting everything that we want that will make our Christmas special but the unique and distinctive bliss that is available at Christmas comes through the love and consideration that binds friends and families together.
MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU WITH A MEANINGFUL CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR – 2022
“Every day can be Christmas if the spirit of Christmas lives in our hearts. Everyday can be every holiday rolled into one when we make it so in our hearts and live it so through actions”.
-David Brandt Berg
Fr. Joe Antony OMI